Pinocchio Basics

10 examples to get you started with Pinocchio - 7 basic and 3 intermediate.

Prerequisites

• Native program concepts from Native Program Basics.
• Rust 1.91.1 and Solana CLI 3.0.10.

Basic Examples

1. Add pinocchio dependency

Pinocchio replaces solana-program entry for minimal overhead.

[dependencies]
pinocchio = "0.8"

• Check pinocchio release notes for Agave compatibility.
• Smaller dependency tree than full Anchor.
• Still #![no_std] on-chain.

2. Entrypoint macro

Pinocchio provides entrypoint wiring.

use pinocchio::{account_info::AccountInfo, entrypoint, pubkey::Pubkey, ProgramResult};
 
entrypoint!(process_instruction);

• Similar mental model to solana-program.
• Lower overhead invocation path.
• One entry per crate.

3. AccountInfo access

Read signer and writable flags.

if !account.is_signer() { return Err(ProgramError::MissingRequiredSignature); }

• API mirrors native checks.
• You still validate everything manually.
• No auto constraints.

4. No std alloc

Optional allocator patterns.

#![no_std]
extern crate alloc;

• Same alloc rules as native.
• Minimize heap use.
• Prefer account storage.

5. Pubkey type

Pinocchio pubkey types align with SDK bytes.

let key = account.key();

• 32-byte keys.
• Compare for owner checks.
• PDA derivation off-chain or via syscall helpers.

6. Error returns

ProgramResult pattern unchanged.

return Err(ProgramError::InvalidArgument);

• Custom errors map to u32.
• No Anchor error macro.
• Document codes for clients.

7. CPI with pinocchio

Invoke helpers with similar semantics.

pinocchio::program::invoke(&ix, &accounts)?;

• invoke_signed for PDAs.
• Account meta ordering still callee-defined.
• See building program page.

Intermediate Examples

8. Instruction parsing

Manual or Borsh dispatch.

let (tag, rest) = data.split_at(1);
match tag[0] { 0 => init(rest), 1 => swap(rest), _ => Err(...) }

• Opcode style saves bytes.
• Borsh still fine for complex payloads.
• Keep parser strict.

Related: Building a Program with Pinocchio

9. CU-conscious style

Avoid fmt and logs in hot paths.

// no msg in loop

• Pinocchio wins eroded by logging.
• Profile with Surfpool.
• Compare against Anchor baseline.

Related: CU & Binary-Size Wins

10. Testing

LiteSVM 0.6.x runs pinocchio binaries.

// deploy .so in test fixture

• Same integration patterns as native.
• Snapshot CU metrics.
• Fuzz instruction parser.

Related: LiteSVM

Stack versions: This page was written for Agave 4.1.1, Solana CLI 3.0.10, Anchor 0.32.1, anchor-lang 0.32.1, Rust 1.91.1, @solana/kit 7.0.0, Surfpool 0.12.0, and LiteSVM 0.6.x.